People occasionally ask me whether Thailand is safe.

My answer is based less on statistics and more on nearly 30 years of actually living here.

Before moving to Thailand in 1997, I lived in Holland. On average, something happened to my car at least once a year. It was broken into, damaged, or something disappeared from it. Over the years I lost a CD player, a digital camera, a telephone and probably a few other things I have forgotten about.

One memory still sticks with me.

On my last evening in Holland before moving to Thailand, I invited friends for dinner at a Thai restaurant in Amsterdam’s Red Light District. Walking through the area that evening, I remember feeling uncomfortable.

I am not exactly a small guy. It was my own country. And still, I did not feel completely relaxed.

In almost 30 years in Thailand, I can honestly say I have never had that same feeling.

That does not mean Thailand is crime-free. Of course it isn’t. No country is. But personally, I have always felt comfortable here, whether walking around Pattaya, travelling through the country or simply going about daily life.

Interestingly, the current U.S. travel advisory rates Thailand at Level 1: Exercise Normal Precautions, although it advises greater caution in some specific border and southern areas.

Where I would be more careful

If you ask me what foreigners should really be careful about in Thailand, my answer is probably: a little bit of everything.

Traffic deserves particular respect. Thailand still has a serious road-safety problem, and motorcycles account for a very large share of fatalities.

Then there are the obvious things: nightlife, alcohol, scams and getting yourself involved in situations you would probably avoid back home as well.

But perhaps the best advice is even simpler: behave, use common sense and go with the flow.

Thailand is your host country. Respect the people, respect the culture and remember that being a visitor or foreign resident does not give you special rights to behave badly.

In my experience, most trouble does not suddenly appear from nowhere. Quite often somebody has helped create it.

Safety is also about how a place feels

Statistics are important, but they never tell the whole story.

There is also the simple question of whether you feel comfortable walking down the street, going to a restaurant, stopping at a petrol station or arriving home late at night.

For me, Thailand has always passed that test.

Of course I lock my doors. I watch the traffic. I would not leave a wallet on the table in a crowded bar and expect it still to be there tomorrow.

That is not fear. That is common sense.

After nearly three decades here, I do not walk around Thailand feeling unsafe. Quite the opposite.

Perhaps that is one of the reasons I am still here.

KC Cuijpers
CEO, Town & Country Property Co., Ltd.
Pattaya, Thailand